PONTIAC GRAND-AM 1994 User Guide

Seats & Restraint Systems
Manual Reclining
Seafback
(CONT.)
Head Restraints
Head restraints are fixed on some vehicles
and adjustable on others. Slide an
adjustable head restraint up or down
so
that the top of the restraint is closest to the
top of your ears.
This position reduces the chance of a
neck injury
in a crash.
On some models, the head restraints tilt
forward and rearward also.
r.. IO
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Front Seatback Latches
(TWO-DOOR MODELS)
The front seatback folds forward to let
people get into the back seat. Your
seatback
will move back and forth freely,
unless you come to a sudden stop. Then
it
will lock into place.
There’s one time the front seats may not
fold without some help from you. That’s
if your vehicle is parked going down a
fairly steep
hill.
To fold a front seatback forward, push the
seatback toward the rear seat as you
lift
this latch. Then the seatback will fold
forward. The latch must be down for the
seat to work properly.
Easy-Entry Seat
(TWO-DOOR MODELS)
The right front seat of your vehicle makes
it easy to get in and out of the rear seat.
When you tilt the right front seatback
fully forward, the whole seat will slide
forward.
After someone gets into the rear seat
area, move the right front seatback to
its original position. Then move the
seat rearward until
it locks.
To get out, again tilt the seatback fully
forward.
Split Fold-Down Rear Seat
(OPTION)
To Open:
Pull forward on the seat tab.
To Close:
Push the seatback up to its original
position.
Push the seatback solidly up against the
back plate to ensure the inertial latch will
hook and lock securely during sudden
stops.
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Seats & Restraint Systems
Safety Belts: They’re
For Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to
use safety belts properly. It also tells you
some things you should not do with safety
belts.
And it explains the Supplemental
Restraint System, or “air bag” system.
This figure lights up as a reminder to
buckle
up. (See “Safety Belt Warning
Light”
in the Index.)
In many states and Canadian provinces,
the law says to wear safety belts. Here’s
why: They work.
You never know if you’ll be in a crash. If
you do have a crash, you don’t know
if it
will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes
can be
so serious that even buckled up a
person wouldn’t survive. But most
crashes are
in between. In many of them,
people who buckle
up can survive and
sometimes walk away. Without belts they
could have been badly hurt or killed.
After more than 25 years of safety belts in
vehicles, the facts are clear. In most
crashes buckling up does matter
... a lot!
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When you ride in or on anything, you go
as fast as it goes.
For example, if the 'bike is going 10 mph
( 16 km/h), so is the child.
When the bike hits the black, it stops. But
the child keeps going! Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose! it's
just
a seat on wheels.
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13...
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Seats & Restraint Systems
Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle.
The rider doesn’t stop. The person keeps going until stopped by
something.
In a real vehicle, it could be the
windshield
...
... 14
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or the instrument panel ... or the safety belts!
With safety belts, you slow down as the
vehicle does. You get more time to stop.
You stop over more distance, and your
strongest bones take the forces. That’s
why safety belts make such good sense.
Here Are Questions
Many People Ask
About Safety Belts
--
and the Answers
Q: Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle
after an accident if
I’m wearing a
safety belt?
A: You could be -- whether you’re
wearing a safety belt or not. But you
can easily unbuckle a safety belt, even
if you’re upside down. And your
chance of being conscious during and
after an accident,
so you can unbuckle
and get out, is much greater
if you are
belted.
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Seats & Restraint Systems
Here Are Questions
Many People
Ask
About Safety Belts --
and the Answers (CONT.)
Q: Why don’t they just put in air bags
so people won’t have to wear safety
belts?
A: Air bags, or Supplemental Restraint
Systems, are
in some vehicles today
and
will be in more of them in the
future. But they are supplemental
systems only
-- so they work with
safety belts, not instead of them.
Every air bag system ever offered for
sale has required the use of safety
belts. Even
if you’re in a vehicle that
has air bags, you
still have to buckle
up to get the most protection. That’s
true not only
in frontal collisions, but
especially
in side and other collisions.
Q: If I’m a good driver, and I never
drive far from home, why should I
wear safety belts?
A: You may be an excellent driver, but if
you’re in an accident -- even one that
isn’t your fault
-- you and your
passengers can be hurt. Being a good
driver doesn’t protect you from things
beyond your control, such as bad
drivers.
Most accidents occur within 25 miles
(40 km) of home. And the greatest number
of serious injuries and deaths occur at
speeds of less than
40 mph (65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
Safety Belt Warning Light
When the key is turned to “Run” or
“Start”, a chime
will come on for about
eight seconds to remind people to fasten
their safety belts, unless the driver’s safety belt is already buckled. The safety
belt
light will also come on and stay on
for 20 seconds, then it will flash for an
additional
55 seconds. If the driver’s belt
is already buckled, neither the chime nor
the light will come on.
... 16
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1 How To Wear Safety
Belts Properly
Idults
his section is only for people of adult
ze.
e aware that there are special things to
now about safety belts and children. And
lere are different rules for smaller
ddren
and babies. If a child will be
ding
in your Pontiac, see “Children”
tcated later
in this section. Follow those
des for everyone’s protection.
First, you’ll want to know which restraint
systems your vehicle has.
We’ll start with the driver position.
Vehicles First Sold In
Canada
Was your Pontiac first sold, when new, in
Canada? (If it was, a sticker on the
driver’s door will say “conforms to all
applicable Canada motor vehicle
...” etc.)
If so, then the rest of Part 1 does not apply
to your vehicle.
To leai-n how to use your safety belts,
please read the “Owner’s Manual Safety
Belt Supplement”. It comes with every
new Pontiac first sold
in Canada.
I
r
m
i a
I Driver Position
’his section describes the driver’s
zstraint system.
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Seats & Restraint Systems
automatic Lap-Shoulder
3elt
’his safety belt is called “automatic”
lecause you don’t have to buckle up
vhen you get into your vehicle.
P
Y
J1
SI
md you don’t have to unbuckle when
ou get out.
ust get into your vehicle. Then close and
Ick the door. Adjust the seat (to see how,
ee “Seats” in the Index) so you can sit up
traight.
‘
’he lap belt should be worn as low on the
ips as possible. In a crash, this applies
xce to the strong pelvic bones. And
ou’d be less likely to slide under the lap
elt. If you slid under it, the belt would
pply force at your abdomen. This could
ause serious or even fatal injuries. The
houlder belt should
go over the shoulder
nd across the chest. These parts
of the
ody are best able to take belt restraining
xces.
. . . 18
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The safety belt locks if there’s a sudden
;top or a crash.
[t’s possible that an automatic belt could
keep you from fully opening a door. That
:an happen
if the door was slammed shut
very hard. Just close the door all the way,
;hen slowly open it.
If that doesn’t fix it,
:hen your Pontiac needs service.
We hope you’ll always keep your
mtomatic belt buckled. However, you
nay need to unbuckle
it in an emergency.
To unbuckle the automatic belt, just push
the button
on the buckle.
To reattach the automatic belt:
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see how, see
“Seats” in the Index) so you can sit up
straight.
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the
belt across you. Don’t let it get
twisted.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle
until it clicks. Pull up
on the latch
plate to make sure it is secure.
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